


Murphy's Law

by AimeeLouWrites



Series: Cursed to Strife [2]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Universe, Cloud Strife Needs a Nap, Dimension Travel, Gen, One Single Curse Word
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-18
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:20:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27612670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AimeeLouWrites/pseuds/AimeeLouWrites
Summary: There was a man, sunbathing on the roof of the Tower.
Relationships: Angeal Hewley & Cloud Strife
Series: Cursed to Strife [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2016314
Comments: 19
Kudos: 298





	Murphy's Law

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sphinx_of_Black_Quartz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sphinx_of_Black_Quartz/gifts).



There was a man sunbathing on the roof of the Tower, over the President's office. Since the security footage showed that he'd gotten up there using enhancements  _ (though no one was sure how he'd gotten to the top floor in the first place), _ he was assumed to be a particularly reckless SOLDIER and the nearest First was called to deal with him.

Unfortunately, that meant Angeal had to trudge up to the top floor and mete out punishment to what was, in all likelihood, a dumb teenager high off his first mako injections. With a sigh, he snapped his PHS shut and made his way up.

Except, he didn't find a teenager on top of the roof when he climbed up. He found a man who looked a bit older than him, maybe twenty-five to twenty-eight, which was strange because there were very few SOLDIERs that age, and none of them were stupid enough to sunbathe over the President's office.

The man pulled one hand from where it was crossed behind his head and waved lazily. "Howdy," he said, not even bothering to open his eyes. "Come to kick me out, SOLDIER?"

"Hm," Angeal said, narrowing his eyes and taking a moment to really  _ look _ at the man. He had long blonde hair, wild and unkempt, pulled into a ponytail at the base of his neck by a pink ribbon. A matching Ribbon was tied around his bicep, but that was equipment, not an accessory. His clothing looked like a SOLDIER First uniform, if you tilted your head and squinted: a black ribbed shirt with a high neck that zipped up the front, a short-sleeved shirt beneath that, baggy black cargo pants, mismatched gloves. There was no stomach guard, and his sword harness didn't look like any standard design Angeal had ever seen. Most strikingly, he had an enormous buster-type sword laying next to him, pressed snug against his side. 

Angeal was absolutely certain he'd never seen that sword before. He would have remembered a beauty like that.

"Take a seat," the man said, and Angeal noticed the dark circles beneath his eyes and the pale color of his lips. "I'll be gone in a minute anyway. No point in arresting me when it'll just cause problems for you."

"Oh?" Angeal asked, moving closer and dropping down into a crouch. Something was going on here. He felt it best to act cautiously until he knew what. "How do you figure?"

"Well, awkward questions tend to crop up when a prisoner vanishes on your watch."

"Very confident, for a man laying on the roof of the most secure building in the world. You sure you could get away from a First Class?"

The man snorted, cracking open one eye and looking at Angeal from the corner of it. His irises were dazzlingly bright, mako blue with an eerie ring of green  _ (a green that matched Seph's eyes) _ around his pupil. A chill went down Angeal's spine at the brightness of the gleam. That was no Second or Third class level of enhancement. That was beyond even First Class. Beyond even Sephiroth, though he rejected the thought immediately.

Ignorant to his growing alarm, the blond said "nothing to do with 'getting away,' Mr. First Class. I have no choice in the matter. It's just what's going to happen."

"Someone after you?" Angeal asked lightly.

The man closed his eyes and settled back with a sigh. "The universe, maybe. Or my family name. Or whoever cursed my family name. But a singular person? I wish. That would be old hat."

"Your...family name?"

"Strife," he replied with a laugh. "Fitting, isn't it? The name Strife, cursed to eternal Strife. And since I got the shortest straw of all, here I am. It gets worse with negative emotion and...well. Let's just say I've felt my share of negative emotion." He sat up and looked at Angeal very seriously, the intensity of his gaze killing the words Angeal wanted to say in response.

"This is stupid of me," the blond said, "but I've never been particularly smart. Listen. There's a kid that’s going to come here, probably. Wants to be a SOLDIER. Don't let him. Tell him to go home. Tell him to let the world take care of itself. Tell him he's not good enough, if you have to. Just make sure he stays far away from the Shinra Science Department."

Working past the sudden dryness in his throat, Angeal said, "a kid?"

"Cloud Strife," the man said. "His name is Cloud Strife. You really can't miss him. He looks like—" he smiled, humorless. "Well. Me."

"Your...kid?"

The blond threw his head back and laughed uproariously at the suggestion. "Ha! No. You'd be closer guessing twin, but even then, no."

A twin years younger than him? The man was crazy, maybe from the mako, maybe from sleep deprivation, maybe just...crazy. Angeal ignored the uneasiness in his gut and decided it was time to end the whole charade, for everyone's sake. "Sure. Cloud Strife. I'll keep an eye out. Now, how about we get off the roof and get you to medical, huh?"

"Aww," the blond cooed at him, standing fluidly to his feet and picking up the sword. Angeal followed, watching him closely. "You're trying to help. That's cute, but no." His head tilted slightly. "Mm. Seven seconds left." He holstered the sword on his back. Angeal tensed, ready for him to bolt or attack.

He casually walked over to the edge of the roof— and stepped off.

"Shit!" Angeal cursed, blurring to the edge in the hopes of...what? It was too late to save him from falling. Horror churned in his gut. Was this what the crazy man had meant by vanishing? Suicide?

But...when he looked over the edge of the roof, the man was gone without a trace. No body below, nothing in the airspace for miles around. He was just...gone.

Angeal leaned back, one hand going to his forehead as he felt his pulse slowly calm. The Turks would have security footage to know what really happened, but...well.

Maybe it wouldn't hurt to keep an eye out for Cloud Strife.

**Author's Note:**

> [ Come join me on Tumblr for illustrations and updates (and FF7 shitposts)](https://aimeelouart.tumblr.com/)   
> 


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